Migration and the SPD’s Push for a Right to Stay for Working Refugees
The SPD parliamentary group has presented a clear programmatic paper that links migration policy to labour market needs. At its core is a call for a Bleiberecht, a right to stay, for all immigrants who obey German laws and who are employed or in vocational training. The proposal frames integration through work and apprenticeships as the most reliable protection against deportation and as a tool to stabilize essential sectors.
Who would be covered?
- People legally working in Germany, including full-time employees and part-time workers.
- Trainees and apprentices enrolled in recognised vocational programs.
- Those who comply with laws, show good integration and participate in society.
This approach highlights working refugees and immigrants in jobs such as care, skilled trades and transport as vital to addressing the growing skilled labour shortage. The SPD argues that it would be counterproductive and absurd to deport people who already fill important roles in the economy, especially while businesses report staff gaps in these professions.
How this contrasts with the CSU approach
The SPD stance clearly contrasts with the CSU position within the governing coalition, which is pushing for a harsher deportation strategy described as an Abschiebeoffensive. The CSU discourse emphasises stricter returns and symbolic measures such as scheduled flights to countries like Syria, arguing that some protection grounds no longer apply. This sets up a direct policy battle between a labour-market driven Bleiberecht and a security-focused return policy.
Tax Proposals: Higher Taxes for Millionaire Heirs and a Fairer Inheritance Tax
Alongside migration policy, the SPD paper advances a social justice narrative that combines relief for small and medium incomes with higher burdens for the wealthiest. The group aims to finance planned income tax relief for lower and middle earners by increasing taxes on very high incomes and by reforming the inheritance tax to target very large estates and millionaire heirs.
Targets and rationale
- Strengthen the inheritance tax so that very large inheritances and substantial intergenerational transfers face higher rates.
- Preserve meaningful tax-free allowances for ordinary family inheritances and a high personal exemption for typical household transfers.
- Use additional revenue from higher taxes on the wealthiest to partly fund tax relief for small and medium incomes from 2026.
The SPD argues this is a question of fairness: currently the relative tax burden often decreases as the size of an inheritance grows. Data referenced in the debate show that estates over 20 million euros can face an average inheritance tax of less than three percent, while inheritances between 100,000 and 200,000 euros face much higher average rates. The SPD points to increasing wealth concentration, where the richest ten percent hold over half of net wealth, to justify changes aimed at closing privileges that favour very large corporate and property transfers.
Introducing “Femizid”: A New Criminal Offense to Tackle Gender-Based Killings
The SPD paper also proposes a new, standalone criminal offence called Femizid to name and prosecute murders of women motivated by misogyny or gender. The proposal reflects the view that gender-based violence often begins with everyday discrimination, harassment and boundary violations and can escalate into the worst forms of violence. Creating a dedicated offence is intended to make the problem visible in law and to signal stronger legal and symbolic protection for women.
What the change aims to achieve
- Make gender-motivated killings legally recognisable and easier to prosecute as a distinct category.
- Raise public awareness about patterns of misogyny that lead to lethal violence.
- Improve prevention and victim protection by acknowledging the gendered root causes of some violent crimes.
By proposing Femizid, the SPD links a symbolic recognition of gender-based killings with practical demands for tougher enforcement, better data collection and stronger support systems for victims. The measure sits alongside broader commitments to equality, safety and feminist criminal law reform.
Political Context, Coalition Tension, and What Comes Next
The SPD package bundles migration, tax justice and feminist criminal reform into a single message of social cohesion under the slogan “Together is our strength”. While the SPD seeks to steer public policy toward labour-oriented integration and redistributive taxation, it faces firm opposition from the CSU and various business groups. The CSU rejects higher inheritance taxes as harmful to family-owned companies and supports tax relief for business and regionalisation instead, creating clear coalition tensions.
| Policy Area | SPD Position | CSU and Business Response |
|---|---|---|
| Migration / Bleiberecht | Right to stay for those who work or train and respect the law | Priority on stricter returns and more deportations, including targeted flights |
| Inheritance Tax | Higher taxes for very large inheritances, protect ordinary family transfers | Oppose increases; call for reductions and protections for family businesses |
| Gender-Based Violence | Create a distinct Femizid offence to acknowledge and punish gender-motivated killings | May welcome increased protection, but details and legal form will be debated |
Next steps include legislative drafting by the SPD after an expected constitutional court ruling on inheritance tax later in the year. The debates will play out in parliament and in public, with potential impacts on the labour market, social fairness, and coalition stability. For citizens, the proposals frame concrete choices: whether to secure skilled workers through integration and legal certainty, pursue more redistributive taxation to fund relief for lower incomes, and strengthen criminal law to better address gender-based violence.
